Language/Sanskrit/Grammar/Negation

Sanskrit Grammar - Negation

Hi Sanskrit learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about negation in Sanskrit. Negation is a crucial aspect of any language, and Sanskrit is no exception. We will explore how to use negation and how to negate different parts of the sentence. By the end of this lesson, you will have a good understanding of this important grammatical concept. Let's get started!

Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Give your Opinion, How to Use "Be", Gender & Plurals.

What is Negation?

Negation is a grammatical concept that is used to express negation or denial. In simple words, it is the opposite of affirmation. In Sanskrit, negation is expressed by the use of negative particles, and they can be used to negate different parts of a sentence.

Negation in Sanskrit

In Sanskrit, negation is expressed using negative particles. Some of the most commonly used negative particles in Sanskrit are न (na), मा (ma), and अ (a).

The particle न (na) is used to negate nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. For example:

Sanskrit	Pronunciation	English
नरः	naraha	not a man
नास्ति	naasti	there is not
न चिन्तयते	na chintayate	not thinking
न गच्छति	na gachchhati	not going
न सुखम्	na sukham	not happy

The particle मा (ma) is used to negate verbs in the present tense, future tense, and imperative mood. For example:

Sanskrit	Pronunciation	English
मा भूद्	maa bhood	Let it not be
मा चरिष्यति	maa charishyati	will not act
माहं वदिष्ये	maaham vadishye	I will not speak
मा श्रूयताम्	maa shrooyataam	May it not be heard
मा स्म गच्छ	maa sma gachchh	Don't go

The particle अ (a) is used to negate the perfect tense and participle forms of verbs. For example:

Sanskrit	Pronunciation	English
न अश्नात्	na ashnaat	has not eaten
न दृष्टः	na drishtaha	not seen
अपठितम्	apathitam	unread
अविदितः	aviditaha	unknown

Negation with Compounds

In Sanskrit, compounds can be used to negate entire sentences by adding the negative particle मा (ma) to a specific compound verb form. The appropriate compound verb form depends on the tense or mood of the sentence. Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

Present Tense: मा वदति || maa vadati || Does not speak Future Tense: मा वक्ष्यति || maa vakshyati || Will not speak Past Tense: मा वदितवान् || maa vaditavaan || Did not speak Perfect Tense: मा वक्तव्यम् || maa vaktavyam || Should not have spoken Imperative Mood: मा वद || ma vad || Do not speak

Dialogue

To understand better how negation works in Sanskrit, let's see a dialogue:

• Person 1: कः त्वं? (kah tvam?) (Who are you?)
• Person 2: अहं रामः न अस्ति । (aham raamah na asti) (I am not Ram.)
• Person 1: तव वस्त्रं सुन्दरं न अस्ति। (tava vastram sundaram na asti) (Your clothes are not beautiful.)
• Person 2: मा वद । (maa vad) (Do not speak.)

Summary

In this lesson, we learned about negation in Sanskrit. We learned about the different negative particles used in Sanskrit and how they are used to negate different parts of a sentence. We also learned how to form compounds to negate entire sentences. By now, you should have a good understanding of negation in Sanskrit.

To improve your Sanskrit Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Sanskrit grammar - Wikipedia

Other Lessons

• How to Use Be
• Future Tense
• Conditional Mood
• Adjectives
• Gender
• How to Use Have
• Pronouns
• Plurals
• Give your Opinion
• Questions